When it's Time

 

I was undecided about writing about this because why make others sad about our loss. Whenever we lose a pet, the beloved ones, it's tough and we get reminders of that loss whenever others speak about their losses. Still, there was something about this one that seemed to me should be shared and so here goes.

 We knew Tigger had a serious disease with cat FIV, which is like human aids. But the information was that they can live a normal lifetime if symptoms are treated. We were doing that. When my brother visited, Tigger was on his lap every time he sat down. He seemed okay.

Right after Dan left, things changed. I won't go into details as they're not what this is about. We saw the end was coming. We called our veterinarian to ask if they gave euthanasia house calls. They did not. They recommended a mobile veterinary unit, which we had already found online. The unit no longer took calls for general health care for new pets, but they still did euthanasia calls.

Desert Paws

One thing we had learned in 2013, that if we had to have a pet put to sleep, we wanted it to be in our home. We waited though to see if he could cross over by himself. When we heard him crying in pain, we made the call. It was with great relief that they said they could be there within an hour and a half. Nobody wants a beloved pet to suffer when nothing can be done for them. 

The doctor arrived, we put Tigger on the sofa where he relaxed. She gave him first a shot to relax him and take away pain. Then after she saw it took effect, she gave him the one to stop his heart. It might have taken half an hour or less, but he was gone. We felt sad but also grateful that he didn't have to continue to suffer.

No photos of him here as I don't want others to feel bad. In a way, this was a victory. I don't know how old he was as we got him as a stray that had been around the farms for years, but not sure how many. We had had him since 2017 and he leaves a big hole in our life, as well as the little female that had followed him to our farm, who I believe was one of his offspring, but who can prove it. We left his body in the living room a day for her to understand he's dead, if they understand such things.

The stones at the top of the page are where he and our other male cat are buried here on our piece of desert. 

The photo below is from a card Desert Paws, here in Tucson, sent us sympathizing with our loss. We appreciated the care the doctor had given him and also her handwritten note about our loss. She added what he had gained for our love of him. That was sweet as is the image. We won't replace him right away as we have to travel north soon, and it would be hard on an adopted cat to deal with that kind of change. We will though when we return to the desert. Two cats is not enough *s*

I am writing this because I believe that sometimes we do have to let our beloved pets go and when we do, if we can afford it, it's very nice to have it done in the house where they live. We still cry, of course, but it helps to know we didn't have them die in fear as happens when they go to the veterinarian's office. We have done it twice now and would let go of them no other way. 

If there is a rainbow bridge for our beloved animals, I hope he traveled over it, maybe with the other one buried here, Blackie, who died without needing euthanasia but also was much missed. They all are.